Fall & Winter Recipes, Menus and Entertaining Ideas

Once I've adjusted to the climate and light changes that come upon us in Fall, I begin to enjoy the reprieve offered by the Fall and Winter seasons. Of course, I dislike cold intensely, but there is less compulsion to be out and about offering some much needed rest after the summer activity. Here are some ideas of great Fall & Winter entertaining concepts, as well as fall and winter recipes and menu ideas.

Following are some decorating ideas, general recipe and party ideas as well as some original Thanksgiving dinner menu ideas. Please enjoy and let it all spark your own imagination!

Decorate with Nature
Rather than breaking out the turkeys, pilgrims and santas in the storage cupboards, why not use the beauty of these seasons to bring your interiors in line with the outdoors.

In many areas colorful leaves and long lasting fruits and vegetables are easily accessible and make beautiful decorations for this time of year. If you live near oak trees, pumpkin patches and apple orchards, you can easily find some beautiful additions to your dining table centerpieces and living room decor. Try any or all of the following:
• Pick up as many acorns as you can find, especially those wih 'caps' and place them inside a clear glass vase. If you have any eucalyptus berrys, you might include some of them as well.
• Buy a few pumpkins, acorn squash and butternut squash. Choose different sizes and colors for variety and set up displays in odd numbers around your house and on the front porch. (use large ones for your front porch)
• Lay fall colored leaves in a circular fashion around the base of candle holders (make sure they aren't close to the flame)
• Juniper shrubs ave a wonderful scent and look especially pretty this time of year. Gather some branches and add some to your fireplace mantle (well away from the fire) and mix with squash centerpieces along with some whole, unshelled winter nuts such as Pecans, Hazelnuts or Chestnuts. *Note that the sap in juniper and any evergreen is highly flammable. Use great caution when decorating around fireplaces and candles.
• Find some long Contorted Hazelnut branches, remove the leaves (but leave the flower clusters) and arrange in a clear crystal or glass vase. These look lovely against solid light colored backgrounds.
• Fall apples make beautiful displays. If you have any nice crystal bowls or vases, fill them with apples, mixed with pears, nuts or even some greenery

Bring home the Harvest and Celebrate the Changing Seasons
Food is always an important part of cool weather. With food distribution systems and supermarkets, we no longer need to preserve foods for the winter months, but the foods we eat will affect our moods and overall health. It's important to continue to eat as much fresh food as possible, and now more than ever this is possible. If you live in a moderate winter climate, you can probably still even eat local products to some degree.

Throughout history, one of the fundamental aspects of friendship has been sharing food. Especially at this time of year when it's easy to 'stay in', try setting up some easy, celebratory opportunities to share food with friends and family. Here are a few ideas for entertaining during fall and winter months.

A Harvest Party
What could be more celebratory than a Harvest Party. For those of us who live in agricultural areas, we know firsthand the importance of this season. Even if you aren't a farmer or grower, you can still help celebrate a bountiful year and welcome the respite after the growing season, by hosting a Harvest Party.

So much from the garden is perfect at this time of year, you have many easily accessible choices to compose a feast of plenty. A few recipe suggestions follow:
• Roasted Red Peppers
• Autumn Salad
• Stuffed Acorn Squash
• Cauliflower Mash
• Poached Pears

Dessert Parties
One of the things we like to do during late Fall and Winter is host dessert parties. We invite guests to come and bring a bottle of sparkling or dessert wine. We provide the desserts. We never have anyone decline unless they are out of town and it always turns into a great event.

Dessert parties are very nice as an alternative to full dinner parties. There is much less to do and it's easier for people to sqeeze in around family and holiday events.

You can approach this in a variety of ways; either feature a dessert, or feature wine. Of course, you can feature both, but that requires more experimentation and thought beforehand.

Some great ideas for dessert features with accompanying wine are:
• Warm Spice Cake - Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Tawny Port
• Apple Pie - Late Harvest Johannesburg Reisling, Sauvignon Blanc
• Lemon Tart - Ruby Port
• Forestville Wild Blackberry Cobbler (this is our favorite) - Sparkling Wine
Some great ideas for simple desserts in which dessert wine is the feature might be:
• Late Harvest Zinfandel - Pears in Red Wine
• Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc - Orange Cake
• Full bodied Merlot or Zinfandel - Chevre with dried fruit and nuts
• Late Harvest Johannesberg Reisling - Iced Anise Cookies
• Zinfandel Port - Brandied Fruit over Ice Cream

Nouveau Thanksgiving Feast
Why be traditional? One of my biggest frustrations during the holidays is the ultra-unhealthy food everyone in my family wants to eat. That and the Turkey of which I'm not at all fond. I'm always trying to get them to try new things, but it's like pulling teeth - extremely difficult and very painful for everyone. However, I'm always coming up with ideas and one day, everyone else will agree that a change could not only be interesting, but oh so healthy.

Here are some suggestions:
Nouveau Menu 1 with wine suggestions (Traditional type flavor in healthier dishes):

• Set out a light and flavorful appetizer including Roasted Red Peppers, Baked Olives and Easy Anti Pasta. Start off with some Sauvignon Blanc or un-oaked Sangiovese
• Instead of Turkey, roast Duck Breasts or Halves. Serve with your favorite Syrah
• Rather than the milk/flour pan gravy, use my Mushroom Gravy
• Forget the mashed potatoes - Instead try Spicy Roasted Potatoes
• Get the warm greens with a heaping dish of Steamed or Sautéed Swiss Chard
• For dessert, try Easy Cranberry Pie - really, really simple. Serve with some Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc
  
  Nouveau Menu 2 with wine suggestions (Just plain good and festive food):
  
• Start with Mussels in Wine with good whole wheat sourdough bread, accompanied by some excellent Sparkling Wine
• Follow with Butternut Squash Soup to warm things up
• Herbed Salmon is absolutely delicious, full of good fats and a wonderful centerpiece to any meal. Serve with Dry French Rose, a lighter Pinot Noir, or a harder to find Cabernet Franc
• Accompany the spectacular salmon with Cauliflower Mash and Summer Green Beans with fairly easy to find ingredients year round
• For dessert, try a Wine Harvest Cake with some Zinfandel or Port
  
  Nouveau Menu 3 with wine suggestions (Elegant Vegetarian Thanksgiving):
  
• Start with Spinach Mousse on Roasted Tomatoes. Serve with a lightly chilled Pinot Grigio
• Follow with Creamy Asparagus Soup and more Pinot Grigio
• Center the main course around a Vegetable Bechamel Lasagna or Eggplant Casserole with a well aged Cabernet or medium bodied Merlot
• To accompany the main course, you will want some simple items, such as Company Salad (or any other simple salad with greens) and a nice Foccacia bread or french bread
• Finish this with an elegant Fruit Salad and Late Harvest Johannesberg Reisling
Enjoy the season!

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